Athlete of the Month

The Team Sheeper Athlete of the Month award is handed out to a member of the team on a monthly basis, 7 or 8 times a year. The AOM is someone who made a notable contribution to the team or did something remarkable. Selection is made by nomination and voting by the membership.

You can nominate anyone and the nomination period is usually during the first week or two of the month. Look for notification that nominations are being sought.  When nomination close, the voting starts and once all the votes are tallied, the new AOM is crowned.

Besides bragging rights for a month, our AOM gets some goodies from our gracious sponsors, such as free shoes from TRH, a massage from SMI, gift certificates from GoRide.

GoRide Bicycles is proud to sponsor this month's athlete who embodies the spirit of Team Sheeper. Located in Redwood City, GoRide Bicycles continues the 30-year tradition of Garner's Pro Bikes.

Ian Hersey

November 2012 Athlete of the Month

"Awesome race at IMAZ and Kona qualifier!"
"Ian "Wingman" Hersey. An epic day at IMAZ. 5:04 bike! 10:04 over all time which beat his PR by over 20 min. 3rd in his age group and a spot for KONA 2013!!!"
- Fellow Teammates.

What is an injury or obstacle you have had to overcome to achieve your goal?

I had to turn a weakness into a strength – I put a big focus on the bike in 2012, and that made all of the difference in my results. Well, that, and turning 50, which put me into a slightly less competitive age group.

What is the best piece of advice you would give to a beginner triathlete?

Be patient. It takes years of hard work and consistency to reach your potential, and even then there are always things you can do better. It’s a journey of self-discovery, of finding your limits and moving beyond them.

If you could be the best swimmer, cyclist or runner..which would you choose?

The bike is key to your whole race in triathlon, but you win on the run, so for me being a good runner is key. That said, I do fantasize about what it would be like to be a fast swimmer – to be at the head of the race instead of playing catchup all day.

How do you set your goals?

I look back over the prior season and assess my strengths and weaknesses. Then I develop a plan of action to work on my weaknesses, and I set realistic (but challenging) goals based on how the improvements I can make will translate into race times.

Do you have any recommended resources to share (books, websites, etc)?

Any of Joe Friel’s books (Triathlete’s Training Bible, Going Long). And of course TrainingPeaks.com, which team members will be hearing a lot about this coming year. :)